War Against the Xaenis
War Against the Xaenis The War Against the Xaenis was the invasion of the Xaenis Swarm under the Xaenis Queen against a coalition led by Emperor Athdus III. It was the bloodiest and most devastating war in the history of the Nesarian Empire, and in relative terms, one of the most destructive wars in history, leading to somewhere between 4.5 and 6.5 million deaths, which is between 27.5% and 40.6% of the total population of approximately 16,000,000. The worst affected population was the Dragons, who lost up to 80% of their numbers. Several major cities were completely destroyed, such as Osdarth, Ascaria and the cities of Qaateen. The population would not be fully restored to pre-war levels for four centuries. The War Against the Xaenis left a permanent mark upon the people of what now constitutes the Nesarian Empire. The sheer devastation of the war would never be forgotten, but neither would the spirit of unity, brotherhood and grim determination against impossible odds that led the coalition to victory. For his role in essentially saving the world, Emperor Athdus III became venerated as an Elvetan saint after his death (and later a Christian one), and all those who fought and died in the war would be proclaimed as saints by the Elvetans a year later. The coalition was the ultimate expression of "victory or death", and it forever inspired (and continues to inspire) the soldiers of the Empire to fight to whatever bitter end they may face. Most historians theorise that the invasion of the Xaenis was motivated by pure pragmatism. The Xaenis were a virus-like species which could only reproduce by consuming the organic matter of others, and they took on the traits of those whose flesh they reprocessed - so the intelligent hominids were especially sought after as they produced the most intelligent offspring. Course of the War First Phase; The Retreat The Xaenis invasion came from the north, breaking through a weak point in the Great Shield and first attacking Qaateen in June of 83. The news of this attack convinced the Nesarian Empire and Indissia to immediately call a ceasefire in their ongoing war, and Emperor Athdus hastily retreated back to Osdarth to prevent himself being cut off in foreign hostile lands. The Xaenis swarm then split into three prongs; one heading westward into the Western Desert, one heading south towards Osdarth, and one (starting its journey from the Hive, which had been established north of the Qaateeni Mountains) heading south-east into Estemoria. The Nesarians fought the Xaenis at the shores of Osdaka, but were forced to retreat to Kimato and then into Estemoria to avoid becoming trapped in Osdarth. Osdarth was eventually overrun in 84, the Xaenis staying in the city for another year to slaughter the population and turn their corpses into more Xaenis. The bulk of the swarm would leave in late 85, but some remained who continued to attack the intrepid survivors until the final defeat of the Xaenis. Emperor Athdus was unable to mount an effective defence in Estemoria, being pushed back into Nesaria by late 85. He attempted to block off the Great Ramp, building a fortified and heavily manned wall, but the sheer numbers of the swarm overpowered it. The defence then relocated to Ascaria, manning the Great Wall, after suffering a defeat in the Battle of Wallshire. Ascaria itself was then overrun, and Athdus was forced to retreat with the army, taking as many civilians with him as he could but ultimately failing to save the vast majority of the population. Second Phase; The Coalition Athdus moved southward with what remained of his army and his gaggle of refugees, being joined by large numbers of Estemorians who were fleeing the Xaenis invasion of their own land. When they reached the border of Avamoria, they were initially turned away, but the story goes that upon looking out at the (now fairly huge) camp of people who had entrusted their lives to him, Athdus became determined to fight to save them or die trying. He demanded an audience with the Avamorian Senate at sword-point, and there he berated them for their cowardice and convinced them to join the coalition, later travelling to Elavita (with only his wife Avemiri for company) and doing essentially the same thing there. The independent Avamoric states soon joined the coalition after the Xaenis were sighted by their scouts. Athdus then went to Draconia to receive the support of the Dragons, but they were fierce in their rejection of him, adamant that nothing could assail them within the impenetrable walls of High Draconia. Only two Dragons wanted to help, so they joined Athdus and, along with a group of Elvish scholars led by Colados Yavesa, they managed to summon the Dragon Emperor (whom the Dragons called the Flame-Bearer, their chief deity) who proceeded to furiously denounce and berate the Dragons for abandoning the world and called the Grand Flame Host. By this point, in mid-87, the Xaenis had begun attacking Avamoria, and so the coalition met them in the field and - to their own amazement - beat the Xaenis, forcing them to retreat northwards. It is likely that the Xaenis Queen recognised her forces were over-extended after meeting this newfound resistance, and retreated to consolidate the swarm. The coalition managed to develop a strategy of encircling and massacring small pockets of Xaenis, which helped them push further northwards, eventually coming so close to Nesaria (in 89) that the Queen was forced to pull out of the country to avoid having a large portion of her swarm cut off. Third Phase; The Last Stand Fighting continued in this region for another year, until the coalition was pushed southwards again by a renewed Xaenis assault, which used its numbers to pull off the same strategy the coalition had been using against them - creating huge battle-lines which wrapped around coalition forces and surrounded them, slaughtering them to a man with no room for escape. In October of 91, the coalition army was the largest it had ever been. Even Emperor Athdus and his fellow officers at the time did not know the true scale of their army, as its sheer size made counting it difficult, but estimates place it at around a million soldiers - the largest army to ever take the field prior to the First World War. With the Xaenis coming back in renewed force, the coalition decided to make their final stand in Baeruthia, clashing with the Xaenis in November of 91 in the Battle of Millions. In this battle, the coalition force was steadily being destroyed by the Xaenis swarm until the Dragon Emperor killed the Xaenis Queen, taking fatal wounds himself which would later kill him. The Xaenis immediately lost their vigour and began a cacophony of agonised screeching, fleeing the field. The war was won. Aftermath The Xaenis continued to persist for some time, but their behaviour was disorganised and animalistic, being more of a pest than the murderous menace they were before. Many of them were hunted down and killed, but the majority of them starved to death, and their Hive collapsed without the Queen, preventing the species from reproducing. The last recorded sighting of a live Xaenis was in the year 102, and it was promptly killed. Many of the coalition members expanded their oaths of loyalty, placing themselves under the rulership of Emperor Athdus III. Each had their own reasons for doing so, but on the whole it was a combination of several things: a strong admiration and respect for Athdus, the idea that they were in Athdus' debt and needed to repay it, wanting to achieve permanent peace and unity, and the simple pragmatic desire to find someone who would be able to effectively organise and bankroll the reconstruction effort. Athdus had had far more than his fair share of war, and the Empire remained at peace until the end of his days, not expanding again until the Drazak Campaign of 160-166, and after that the Empire would remain at peace until the Mongol War of the mid-15th century.